Sloppy Dawgs fall to USC

SEATTLE – It appeared so similar to last year’s game, in which Washington erased a 21-point deficit to beat USC.

The Huskies came close to erasing a 17-point second-half deficit and cut it to three.

Then came the game-long downfall. Turnovers. A spate of them. And USC escaped with an 88-80 Pacific-10 Conference men’s basketball victory over the Huskies before 7,708 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion Thursday night.

Looking like confused novices in the teeth of the Trojans’ aggressive 2-3 zone, Washington committed 29 turnovers, the most since 2001 against Arizona. It was troubling, considering the UW backcourt is supposed to be the strength of the team.

But this was a game of breakdowns from every corner, especially at crucial times, from Mike Jensen’s inbounds violation to Nate Robinson dribbling the ball off his foot.

Intensity. Concentration. Intelligence. All were lacking Thursday night.

“We need to learn to have focus the whole game,” said forward Bobby Jones, who registered his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it’s got to happen soon.”

Washington (5-6, 0-3 Pac-10) made significant runs at USC (7-5, 2-1) in the second half when they were turnover-free for a brief time. Robinson’s three-point play capped a 20-6 run that cut the Trojans’ lead to 61-58 with 7:37 left, but USC took advantage of three UW turnovers to build the lead back to 68-58.

Later, Robinson nailed a 3-pointer with 4:41 left to slice the Trojans lead to 68-63, but the Huskies again succumbed to turnovers, questionable shot selection and other assorted sloppiness.

For the game, USC scored 26 points off UW turnovers. Fourteen points came on the fast break, many off Trojan steals and UW sloppiness.

Someone popped out with the word “turnovers” to UW coach Lorenzo Romar and he had a quick answer.

“Stop right there,” he said. “That was the difference in the game. It was our inability to take care of the basketball.”

At no time did it hurt more than the end of the first half.

The Trojans went on an 18-2 run in the last six minutes of the first half to take a 40-26 lead. They got considerable help from Washington, which committed 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, six in the last six minutes.

Up to then, the Huskies made a game of it, mostly on defense. For most of the half, they held USC to 33-percent shooting from the floor (although much of that was because the Trojans missed a bevy of open looks), but later, the turnover bug chomped on them.

There were too many lazy passes, too many passes into crowds and lack of caution for USC’s pressure defense. The Trojans have stupefying athletes who can close a passing lane quicker than an Eddie Van Halen guitar lick.

“They did a good job of extending out their zone,” Romar said. “They have good quickness out on the perimeter and this was the first time we faced something like that. It seems like our guys have been trying to pass the ball, but tonight was a game where we needed to drive more.”

So quick were the Trojans that the Huskies were reduced to passing the ball around the perimeter, then casting off long shots.

It was more than the UW guards could cope with. It didn’t help that forward Jones played just six first-half minutes after picking up his second foul.

Another difference was at the foul line. USC, which penetrated the Husky defense regularly and beat Washington down the floor for fastbreak layups, was 11-for-16 at the line. The Huskies, too often settling for perimeter jumpers, were just 1-for-2. Only Will Conroy (a team-leading 21 points, 5 of 12 from 3-point range) was even close to successful.

The game marked the return of Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart, who helped Rainier Beach to two straight state titles. Depending on whom you believe, the twins had a brief flirtation with the Huskies before choosing USC.

Rodrick tallied 14 points and four assists, while Lodrick finished with nine points, three assists and six steals.

Both received healthy boos every time they touched the ball.

“I thought they played very well as freshmen coming back to their hometown,” USC coach Henry Bibby said. “We talked about them coming back home. We talked about how people would boo them. I think they stood up strong to it.”